Investing.com - The pound rose to the day’s highs on Tuesday after data showing that wage growth in the UK accelerated at the fastest pace in nearly 10 years in August, bolstering the outlook for the economy.
GBP/USD hit a high of 1.3209 and was at 1.3194 by 04:57 AM ET (08:58 AM GMT), up 0.33% for the day.
Average earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by an annual 3.1% in the three months to August, the Office of National Statistics reported. It was the fastest increase since Jan. 2009.
Including bonuses, pay growth rose by an annualized 2.7%, the quickest growth since February.
The annual rate of inflation in the UK was 2.5% in August, indicating only a modest boost to workers spending power.
The unemployment rate held as expected at 4.0% in August.
"People’s regular monthly wage packets grew at their strongest rate in almost a decade but, allowing for inflation, the growth was much more subdued. The number of people in work remained at a near record high, while the unemployment rate was at its lowest since the mid-1970s", said ONS head of labor market David Freeman.
Sterling was also higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP slipping 0.3% to 0.8776 from around 0.8789 earlier.